Urgent Appeal: Help Evacuate My Family from Gaza

My name is Hanan Abu Basheer, a master's student in Australia. I have launched this GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $90,800 AUD to ensure the safety and facilitate the evacuation of my immediate family (8 members) in Gaza. To maintain transparency, I have detailed the breakdown of the estimated total costs for your understanding.

• Evacuation Fee/Egyptian coordination: $52,000 AUD

• Transportation to Rafah Crossing (Considering the fuel scarcity in Gaza) + Transfer fees (between currencies: AUD-USD + Western Union fees): $2200

• Living expenses and Rent in Egypt for 2 families: 10,000

• Flight ticket from Cairo to Australia: $24,000 ($3,000 per person)

• GoFundMe Fee: $2,600 (Approximately 2.9% of each donation)

My sister, in her efforts to secure the safety of our family, successfully obtained tourist visas, on 15th November, that enable our immediate family members to travel from Gaza to Australia. However, we have been facing the considerable challenge of navigating the Rafah Crossing. We applied for these visas anticipating Australian government support in leaving Gaza. Regrettably, after over a month and a half of waiting, my sister received an email from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It stated that our family members do not qualify for Australian Government assistance, as eligibility is restricted to “immediate family members who are a spouse/de facto partner and dependent children”.

This fundraising campaign is a heartfelt appeal for assistance, aiming to ensure the safe relocation of my family from Gaza. With each passing day, the situation in Gaza deteriorates. Basic necessities have become scarce and exorbitantly priced, making daily essentials hard to obtain. In our last conversation, my mother lamented the dire situation: “Previously affordable items have now become unattainable, with the crisis being further compounded by ongoing bombings and the harshness of the cold winter.”

I am faced with a desperate situation, having exhausted all means to safeguard my family in Gaza. For nearly three months, we have been living through the devastating impact of continuous genocide.

I have been waiting patiently for any sign of action to stop the suffering and atrocities, but unfortunately, each glimmer of hope has led to a dead end. My family’s lives, like any other family in Gaza, deserve choice and protection. Recently, a bombing struck close to home, damaging my uncle's pharmacy, alarmingly close to my parents’ residence. My current efforts to fundraise for relocating my family echo a fundamental human right, one that should be safeguarded by international entities like the United Nations. This fundraising is not merely a formality; it is a critical mission to rescue my family from the heart of a genocidal war zone – a duty that ideally should be upheld by global organizations committed to protecting human lives.

My family, living in Gaza, includes my parents, a brother studying medicine at Al-Azhar University, and my elder brother with his wife and their three children. Like many families in Gaza, as seen in the news, we face daily struggles under constant bombardments, in desperate search of basic necessities like water, food, and cooking supplies. Additionally, we face the challenge of sheltering relatives who have no other place to go.

Articulating the full extent of these emotions is a complex task. The imperative of safeguarding a loved one takes precedence, often overshadowing the array of pain and emotions endured in the unyielding struggle for survival.

Raising funds for my family initially felt like a compromise to my dignity, but the critical nature of our situation has led me to seek help. My parents rely on me to do everything possible for their safety. The fear of regretting inaction if tragedy strikes overrides my personal reservations. Friends have inquired how they can assist, and while I had no answers initially, I now understand the importance of securing funds for safe passage from Gaza. I now realize that gathering funds to ensure even one person’s safe exit from Gaza is preferable to helplessly witnessing their struggle in such harsh conditions. While this approach may conflict with my personal beliefs, I understand that this is a matter of survival, transcending my thoughts.

I am committed to allocating any surplus funds from this campaign to individuals affiliated with Gazan NGOs with whom I collaborated before leaving Gaza a year ago.

Your support matters and has the potential to make a significant difference.